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If you Google feng shui, the top hits are images of bamboo fountains, yin and yang symbols, and women in meditative poses. But what if feng shui was simpler than that?

Interior design educator Kyoto Miyamura has spent the last fifteen years of her life learning about the art of feng shui. She claims that it can be as simple as listening to your intuition.

Miyamura left Pullman with an interior design graduate degree from WSU in 2003. She has since taught at the International Academy of Design and Technology in Seattle, and the Art Institute of California in Orange County. Miyamura now lives and practices feng shui in her home in Phoenix, Arizona.

Miyamura claims that people already commonly practice feng shui, even if they don’t realize they are doing so. Sitting in warm natural light on a cold day or painting your room colors that make you feel good are both examples of feng shui. Miyamura explains that we all attach thoughts or feelings to objects in our lives.

“Every single item, living or not living, naturally made or man-made, has an energy which will stick to anything,” Miyamura said.

Miyamura claims these items and their energies can affect our mental health. The simplest way to regain control of our space is to get rid of items with negative associations.

“It’s part of the cleansing,” Miyamura said. “Let go of the clutter, which is something everyone is practicing these days.”

Miyamura said that like minimalism, feng shui can make people feel better by getting rid of the clutter that brings them down. Jessica Groven, an undergraduate student at WSU, has an interest in minimalism and maintains that arranging your room modestly can bring positive mental health.

“Personally, I like to limit what goes in my room to things that have practical use or purpose,” Groven said. “I try not to keep too many knick-knacks or freebies around.”

Groven claims that the less clutter one has in their room, the better they will be able to concentrate on happiness and academics.

“For me,” she said, “clutter is an instant stressor, and I can’t focus when it’s there.”

Minimalism and feng shui both focus on generating positivity through the items that surround you. It’s ultimately up to the individual to find what they need to keep or throw away.